Manipulation is only control disguised as love. It is one of the most horrendous and deteriorating forms of abuse. It tears you down, making you question everything you ever thought was true. You begin to doubt your self-worth and expect people to mistreat you. This causes us to ultimately let everyone manipulate us into benefiting them in some way. It can be really hard to break, but you can do it. An essential thing to remember when trying to break free from a manipulator is that you didn’t do anything to make this person treat you this way. If it wasn’t you, it would be someone else – and if you did one thing right, it would be something else you did wrong.

There is no way to fully suffice the never ending antagonization and criticism of a manipulative person, but you can shut down their most popular lines. Manipulative people are caught off guard when the victim no longer withstands their abuse. Here are some of the most popular phrases used by manipulative people and how to shut them down for good!

Look What You Made Me Do – No person could ever avoid making mistakes. Although a manipulative person tries to do so, they fail miserably. However, they will always try to make it your fault. The best way to reply to this is simple; think logically. You cannot make any person do anything.

You Shouldn’t Still Be Mad After I Bought You That Necklace – Manipulative people refuse to admit they did anything wrong, so if it’s obvious they will typically buy you new and nice things. When they buy you said objects they will expect you to forgive them for what they did. You reply with, “You cannot buy my forgiveness. Your money splurging does not, in anyway, reconcile you…”

Who’ve You Been Texting – Positive and healthy relationships are not jealous. You can not have a healthy relationship without trust. A manipulative person will always monitor who you’re talking to and who you’re in contact with. They want to be the only person in your life.

I Don’t Want You to Have to Work – When it comes to your relationship with the manipulative person they feel as if they are the leaders. They are heavily intimidated by other people, therefore they don’t want you to be out in society. They want you right at home where they left you.

My Way is What’s Best For Us – A manipulative person will always boss you around. They take no regards for your feelings, and their way is always the correct way. They force you to dissolve your feelings and continue doing whatever they want. You should reply with, “My feelings are equally important as yours, and ignoring either of ours will do nothing but negatively affect the relationship.”

If You Leave I’ll Hurt Myself – Manipulative people have tons of different methods for controlling you. When you start to wake up to the ways they control you, they will resort to anything they can to keep you around. This often involves threatening to hurt themselves, and in this case, you should always remember that you aren’t responsible for the actions of each other.

You Don’t Want Kids, But I Want a Family – In this situation, the manipulator takes no regard for your feelings. They make you feel obligated to start a family with them because this is how they can assure you don’t get away from them. You need to remind them of the fact that you can be a family without children.